CAMPUS SUSTAINABILITY PROGRESS REPORT
In May 2013, Tuftsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Campus Sustainability Council released a report containing
recommendations in the areas of waste, water, and energy and emissions. A fourth
section discussed cross-cutting issues that emerged as recurring themes across all
three areas.
This document is a progress report containing sustainability highlights presented
in the same four sections as the original report. Each section features notable areas
of progress toward related goals and objectives from the report, graphical data from
fiscal year 2013, and examples of upcoming projects.

Integrating sustainability into planning capital projects
RELATED SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL GOAL: Proactive planning that
incorporates sustainability-related analysis emerged as a central
theme in all working groups.

<< Rendering of 574 Boston Avenue Courtyard entry

Proactive planning that incorporates
sustainability-related analysis emerged
as a central theme in all of the Campus
Sustainability Council’s working groups.
In this context, planning refers to
making sure the decision makers are
raising the right questions or issues
early in the decision process, as well as
connecting systems and stakeholder
groups that do not typically interact. The
timely and effective engagement of all
key stakeholders fosters decisions that
are guided by life-cycle costing and an
understanding of the long-term use and
operation of a building.
In presenting the draft five-year
capital plan in early 2013, university
leadership identified a number of basic
principles for strategic capital projects
related to proactive planning, which
help to embed sustainability into future
building projects. The principles include
creating standards that lead to flexible
spaces that can be right-sized according
to the use, academic research type, and
resource needs. These spaces can also
be repurposed easily without extensive
renovations, reducing the need for new
construction materials.
Clustering research types not only
fosters a dynamic, vibrant intellectual
community for the scientists but also
allows researchers to share equipment
and resources, which can save money,
energy, and space. The Project Sponsor
Group for the conversion of 574 Boston
Avenue to a collaborative research and
teaching space has adopted a set of
space use guidelines that embody this
principle and will be used during the
programming and design phases of the

project, marking an evolution in space
planning at Tufts.
Another principle identified in the
capital plan is to develop and implement
university-wide standards for high
performance buildings and to promote
design excellence. High performance
buildings are ones in which the
occupants can work comfortably and
efficiently, but are also very energy and
resource efficient. Although traditional
science buildings are “energy-hogs”
due to their extensive use of specialized
laboratory equipment and stringent
temperature and ventilation controls,
new expertise in building science has
led to exceptional science buildings with
significantly reduced energy use. The
Science and Engineering Center (SEC),
now in the design phase, is on track to
become one of these high performing
buildings due to the creation of a design
team of architects and engineers with
a proven track record of sustainable,
energy efficient design.
Marc Rosenbaum, P.E., an award
winning leader in the field of sustainable
building design, assisted Tufts in
selecting a collaborative project team
that will foster an integrated systems
design process that leverages the
collective wisdom of Tufts’ facilities
and construction staff alongside
contracted architects, engineers, and
other specialists. The team’s process
for choosing materials and equipment
will include life-cycle cost analyses for
strategic items that allow the team
to understand the costs over the full
lifespan of each component and, in
many cases, will lead to the selection of

Tufts University | Campus Sustainability Progress Report | March 2014

equipment and construction practices
that are energy efficient, more durable,
and better for the environment.
The design team working on 574
Boston Avenue has made energy
efficiency and sustainability priorities
from the beginning of the project. The
renovated building will have a wellinsulated building envelope (windows,
walls, roof, etc.) with triple-glazed
windows (which reduce heat loss by
33%) that will eliminate the use of
supplemental radiators near windows and
hallways. Natural light is maximized in the
interior design.
The 574 Boston Avenue building
also exemplifies the principle of
“minimizing footprint expansion” that
is outlined in the capital plan, as many
of the new building occupants will
come from existing buildings that will
be decommissioned, reducing Tufts’
overall footprint. By reusing an existing
building, Tufts reduces the amount
of old construction materials that are
thrown out and the amount of new
materials purchased, saving not only
the value of the materials themselves
but also the embodied energy that
went into producing them. The reuse
of an existing building site also negates
the need to take over greenspace,
preserving land for wildlife, vegetation,
and human enjoyment.
The principles and guidelines being
used in these two building projects are a
giant step toward the institutionalization
of sustainable design principles and
proactive planning at Tufts.

2

NOTABLE PROGRESS
CULTURE CHANGE: Community-Based Social Marketing
A number of groups are at work to facilitate behavior
change among students, staff, and faculty, including
the Eco-Reps, Eco-Ambassadors, Green House, green
teams (e.g. Tisch Library), and school sustainability
councils (e.g. Fletcher) across the university. In
addition, the class “Environmental Action: Shifting
from Saying to Doing,” which allows students to
practice acting as change agents on campus, was
offered for the fourth time in Spring 2014.

CAMPUS AS LEARNING LAB: Create a searchable database
where student projects can be archived and referenced
Students Josh Fishbein and Jillian Silver are building
an online database as the capstone project for their
Computer Science degree. The database will serve as
a repository for student research projects related to
sustainability on campus. Students will be able to add
their own projects to the database and build upon past
projects by viewing previous students’ research. The
internal database is expected to be complete by semester
end of Spring 2014.
RELATED HIGHLIGHTS:

At the start of
the electronic
requisition
process, the purchasing website now
displays a reminder to “Buy
Green.” The prompt links
to a downloadable flier with
recommendations and resources
for eco-friendly products.

A condensed version of the Eco-Ambassador sustainability
training program for staff/faculty was launched in 2012 in
Boston and has now been offered on all three campuses.
• There are currently Eco-Ambassadors in over 70 departments
across the university who reach over 2,500 employees.
In FY14, 40 staff and faculty completed the Eco-Ambassador training, bringing the
total number of Eco-Ambassadors at Tufts to 108.
Tufts University
Eco-Ambassadors

•

•

NEXT STEPS
•

The Tufts Effectiveness in Administrative
Management (TEAM) initiative has a working group
on the Strategic Capital Delivery Process, which
is dedicated to improving the integrated systems
design process for planning capital projects. The
group is currently investigating online project
management tools that will streamline planning,
capture key data on cost, and improve accountability.

Tufts University | Campus Sustainability Progress Report | March 2014

•

To provide recognition for offices engaged in
sustainability practices, the Office of Sustainability
is re-launching the Tufts Green Office Certification
program in Spring 2014. The new program will
feature a “smart” interactive Excel self-assessment
checklist that provides users with instant feedback
on their performance along with action items for
improvement.
3

WASTE

Solid waste minimization program established
RELATED SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL GOAL:
Reduce waste by 3% each year, on average,
through source reduction, waste management
strategies, and behavior change

<< The annual President’s Picnic is a Zero Waste event.

In a transition away from contracting
with separate trash and recycling
haulers, Facilities Services and Tufts
Recycles! announced a new partnership
in September 2013 with waste
contractor Save That Stuff, Inc., who
is now responsible for both trash and
recycling disposal. Save That Stuff,
Inc. has a track record of innovation
in waste diversion and will help Tufts
assess total solid waste output, create
a comprehensive minimization plan
to reach Tufts’ goal of reducing waste
by 3% per year, and capture the
remaining recyclables from the trash.

food waste collection in the dining
centers since 19981. Today, additional
infrastructure and practices are being
put into place to expand food waste
collection.

created a “Lift the
Lid” campaign in
November 2013
to encourage the
recycling of bulky
items that don’t
easily fit through
recycling bin lids.
Posters were
“Lift the Lid” campaign
circulated detailing
the best way to recycle coffee cups,
to-go containers, and other odd
shaped items.

Building on the Eco-Reps’ residence
hall composting efforts, 11 central
collection bins have been placed in
close proximity to each participating
hall, bringing the
total number of
compost dropoff bins on the
Medford/Somerville
campus to 15.

Organic waste collection or
“composting” is leading the path
to zero waste around the country,
particularly the collection of food
waste. The US EPA estimates that
food waste makes up close to 15% of
curbside trash. Tufts Dining has been
a pioneer in post- and pre-consumer

Waste audits began on the
All these
Medford/Somerville campus, and
initiatives contribute
early results showed that recyclables,
to the larger vision New compost toters at
which could be captured and saved
of the Sustainability
residence halls
from the incinerator, made up 20% of
Council’s working
the trash (as a comparison, the state
group on waste to have the entire
of Massachusetts’ trash contains
Tufts community play “an intentional
Figure
2.
Medford
Composting
Rate
40% recyclables). Diverting trash
role in fostering a cradle-to-cradle
Volume of Compost
Compost as a % of total trash in Medford
decreases not only the amount but
18% economy.” A cradle-to-cradle
350
16.83%
also the costs for disposal.
economy is one in which durable

To increase participation
in recycling, Tufts Recycles! also

16%

300

14.63%

250

TONS

Over the four-year contract with
Save That Stuff, Inc., waste audits
will be performed on all campuses,
and the results will inform waste
profiles for each campus. The
detailed waste profiles will then
direct future zero waste efforts
that can be customized for each
campus.

12.26%

200

12.27%

10.38%
8.33%

150

8.74%

9.42%
8.05%

14%
12%
10%
8%
6%

100

4%
50

2%

goods are sourced sustainably,
ethically, and locally with highest
reusability and recyclability. In the
ideal scenario, these goods are
not thrown away but are instead
recycled into new products or
turned into soil, negating the need
for new extraction of raw materials.

0%

0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Tufts is already in compliance with the
forthcoming
MA DEP waste bans.
The volume of compost has increased steadily through the years
FISCAL YEAR (JULY 1st – JUNE 30 th)

Tufts University | Campus Sustainability Progress Report | March 2014

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4

NOTABLE PROGRESS
GOAL: Increase participation in recycling and diversion
During the Fall of 2013, residence halls, led by their
Eco-Reps, collected a record 1,500 lbs (3/4 of a ton!)
of compostable waste and upcycled over 20 lbs of chip
bags and granola bar wrappers through the TerraCycle
program. The Eco-Reps also organized the annual Zero
Waste Week, where participants were challenged to carry
all trash that they were unable to recycle or compost in
a clear bag. The bags were then collected and displayed
next to mountains of trash generated by a similar number
of people who did not participate in the challenge.

GOAL: Improve waste management... by streamlining the
disposal process through planning and communication
Eco-Ambassadors from the SciTech building partnered
with Tufts Recycles! to create a custom “enhanced”
recycling program to handle laboratory-specific material,
particularly boxes from the many orders coming in each
day. The program involved training and establishing
stations for packing materials like styrofoam and
cardboard. The effort resulted in 29 bags of styrofoam
being recycled, which filled up an entire truckload!

75% of computers slated for recycling
last year were instead donated to various
community organizations thanks to Tufts
Technology Center, a local non-profit,
and Community Relations. In total, Tufts
donated 57 computers.

•

Dedicated “freecycle” areas that provide
students a place to leave unwanted items
for other people to take were added to the
Wren and Haskell residence halls last year.

•

Paper made of 95% sugarcane waste
fiber (bagasse) is
now being offered
through Tufts’
online purchasing
site. Sugarcane
waste is a rapidly
renewable resource
that produces a high quality paper that is
indistinguishable from wood-fiber based
paper and cheaper than 30% recycled
content paper.

“Percent (%) recycled” is measured as the proportion of Total Waste (trash + recycling)
that is diverted to the recycling stream (weight of recycling divided by the total weight
of all waste (trash + recycling)). It is not necessarily a representation of how well a
population sorts its recycling. For example, a campus that uses and recycles a lot
of paper could have a higher “recycling rate” than a campus that has switched to a
paperless system.

NEXT STEPS
•

The largest remaining generators
of compost will be targeted
next: auxiliary kitchens (daycare,
fraternities with chefs, and the
Tower Café) and apartment style
residence halls where students
cook.

•

A freecycle station will be added during
Hodgdon Hall’s renovation in the summer of
2014, bringing the total number of residence
halls with a dedicated freecycle area to four.

•

Waste audits on the Grafton campus are
expected to start in Spring 2014.

Freecycle area in South Hall
Tufts University | Campus Sustainability Progress Report | March 2014

5

WATER

Tufts rain garden makes a statement for the environment
RELATED SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL
OBJECTIVE: Reduce the environmental
impact of runoff and discharge and
improve water quality.

<< Rain garden between Hodgdon and Lewis Halls

In April 2013, the university’s first
rain garden was officially unveiled
on the Medford/Somerville campus.
Designed as an example of green
infrastructure, also known as low
impact design, the rain garden is
located between Hodgdon and Lewis
Halls. The garden is a collaboration
between Facilities Services and
Urban and Environmental Policy and
Planning professor Scott Horsley.
The project is part of an ongoing
initiative to rehabilitate walkways.
Rain gardens are depressions in
the landscape filled with permeable
stones and native plants to capture
and filter stormwater runoff from
non-permeable surfaces like
sidewalks and rooftops. Excessive
runoff can not only cause erosion
but also overwhelms stormwater
drainage systems, causing flooding.
Stormwater captured in the
municipal storm drains travels to
a body of water - in this case, the
Mystic River system.
Tufts’ rain garden reduces peak
stormwater flooding by temporarily
capturing and storing up to 5,000

gallons of stormwater from each rain
storm.
Marc Mazzarelli Associates,
LLC designed the rain garden,
which features reclaimed boulders
and sustainable fauna. Along with
native plants that can endure local
weather conditions, Mazzarelli
included drought-tolerant and lowmaintenance vegetation such as
Japanese black pine, serviceberry,
and juniper. The combination of
plants, mulch, and stones acts as
a natural filter for the runoff. Many
pollutants picked up from the
surrounding pavement are filtered
out and break down over time in the
soil. The cleaner stormwater is then
stored and slowly released back into
the native underlying soils to help
restore and maintain the natural
hydrologic system.
The rain garden is a visually
appealing creation that represents
tangible progress toward Tufts’
sustainability goal related to
stormwater: reducing the
environmental impact of runoff and
discharge while improving water

Tufts University | Campus Sustainability Progress Report | March 2014

quality. Its location in a high traffic
area between two residence halls
also serves to increase student,
faculty, and staff knowledge of
water ecosystems and human
impacts on water systems, another
goal expressed in the sustainability
report.
Plans for another rain garden
behind the Baronian Field House
have already been created and await
future landscape improvement
initiatives. In the meantime, smaller
sustainable landscaping projects
have been completed, such as
the installation of rain barrels
and drought-resistant plants at
520 Boston Avenue. In addition,
students from Scott Horsley’s
Low Impact Development (LID)
course have examined and
designed LID stormwater plans for
a wide variety of locations on the
Medford/Somerville campus from
the residential quad to Professors
Row. These plans are available to
the Facilities department to review
when the areas are next under
construction.
6

NOTABLE PROGRESS
GOAL: Employ Integrated Pest Management

OBJECTIVE: Deploy water management strategies

The landscaping crew on the Medford/Somerville campus
has been working to address a goose infestation problem at
Tufts’ athletic fields in a way that is not harmful to the animals
or humans. Goose excrement causes grass to grow unevenly
and makes fields unsanitary for athletes.
Instead of using chemicals that make the
geese nauseous, the landscaping crew
discourages birds from congregating on the
fields by shining lasers in an erratic sweeping
pattern on the ground or flying kites shaped
Eagle Kite
like eagles.

Permeable pavement was
installed as a pilot test,
along with a new bike
shelter, outside Miller Hall in
September 2013. Water drains
through the asphalt to a stone
bed and slowly infiltrates into
the soil, reducing the amount
of stormwater runoff that
Bike shelter at Miller Hall
enters the storm sewer.
featuring permeable pavement
RELATED HIGHLIGHTS:

Figure 4. Water Consumption by Campus

•

After a pilot installation of
low-flow 1.5-1.75 gallonsper-minute (GPM) shower
heads was well-received at
the Chi Omega residence hall
in Somerville, replacements
have been scheduled for
all other Medford/Somerville campus residences
(with mostly 2.5 GPM shower heads).

•

Two deep wells began operating in Alumni Field in
2012, which irrigate the athletic field and replace
the need to use potable water.

•

The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
produced a stormwater management plan
incorporating low impact development (LID)
opportunities for future construction. The plan is a
key component of the Amended Grafton Campus
Master Plan, which was submitted to the Town of
Grafton for approval in February 2014.

Water consumption across all three campuses decreased in 2013.
Grafton saw the largest reduction in water use from 14 million to 9 million
gallons, its lowest level of consumption since 2009.

NEXT STEPS
•

•

Two out of seven wells excavated in Baronian
Field yielded the 40 gallons/minute flow required
for irrigation. After the installation of a pump shed
and water lines, these wells will irrigate the fields,
replacing the use of potable water.
Shower timers were installed by Eco-Reps in
West, Hill, and Carmichael Halls to encourage
residents to take shorter showers. Additional
timers will be added to Miller, Metcalf, Bush, and
Hodgdon Halls.

Tufts University | Campus Sustainability Progress Report | March 2014

•

•

Currently, the condensate left over after the steam
is finished heating the buildings on the Boston
campus is mixed with cold water before being
discharged. A heat recovery system is planned to
reduce the temperature of the condensate leaving
the Biomedical Research and Public Health building,
avoiding the addition of cold water.
Although significant progress has been made in the
last year in relation to water conservation, a plan has
yet to be created to evaluate and prioritze targets to
reduce consumption.
7

One of the strategies identified
to facilitate the reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions was
to “develop a campus energy and
utility master plan that provides a
comprehensive overview of systems
and loads, supports intelligent
decision making, and ensures
that every decision is made in the
context of larger system.”
In the summer of 2013, a highlevel utility and energy master
plan for the Medford/Somerville
campus was developed by Van Zelm
Engineers in close collaboration with
Facilities Services and the TEAM2
Energy and Campus Sustainability
working group. Randy Preston joined
Tufts in Fall 2013 as Director of
the University Energy Programs to
manage projects identified by the
energy master plan.
The plan, approved in concept by
the Board of Trustees in February
2014, includes upgrades to the
electrical distribution system and
targets a total of approximately
20% reduction in greenhouse
gas emissions on the Medford/
Somerville campus. The plan
recommends four key energy
initiatives, namely the installation of:
•

A campus-wide integrated
metering system,

•

A cogeneration plant,

•

A central chilled water plant
to serve the air conditioning

needs of the southeast
portion of campus, and
•

Building energy audits
and energy conservation
measures.

A metering system that will
measure energy use in each
building is currently in the Request
for Proposal process. Having realtime data on electricity and heat
consumption will not only allow the
university to identify more energysaving initiatives but also evaluate
and measure their effectiveness
with greater ease. The first phase
will target structures that consume
the most energy on the Medford/
Somerville campus, but metering
will eventually be expanded to the
Boston and Grafton campuses.
Feasibility studies are in progress
to explore cogeneration as well as a
centralized chilled water system at
Tufts. Cogeneration, also known as
combined heat and power (CHP),
is the simultaneous production of
electricity and heat from a heating
plant. The process captures the
waste heat produced from electricity
generation and uses it to make
steam for heating and cooling,
replacing the need to generate
steam independently.
Tufts saw an 8% reduction of
carbon (CO2 ) emissions at the
Central Heating Plant in 2012-13 by
switching from oil to natural gas.

Tufts University | Campus Sustainability Progress Report | March 2014

Cogeneration further reduces carbon
emissions by approximately 19%
because the steam is essentially
generated without creating
additional carbon. Since the plant
will be onsite, cogeneration also
increases the campus’ resilience by
improving Tufts’ ability to function
during grid power outages.
A central chilled water plant
might join Tufts’ central heating
plant on the hill soon. The cooling
system works by piping cold water
to surrounding buildings to meet
their air conditioning needs. It has
many benefits over Tufts’ current
system of maintaining independent
cooling systems in each building.
The advantages include improved
energy efficiency, the flexibility to
accommodate future cooling needs
economically, lower life-cycle costs,
lower energy and maintenance
costs, and a very modest emissions
reduction. Centralizing a chilled
water system in a free standing
building also frees up space in the
buildings it serves and provides
for a quieter learning and working
environment.
An additional 1% or greater
greenhouse gas emissions reduction
will be achieved through other
master plan initiatives.
Tufts Effectiveness in Administrative
Management (TEAM)
2

A transportation working group was convened in the
Fall of 2013 to begin work to reduce the impact of Tuftsrelated travel and improve access to multiple modes
of transportation to the Tufts community. One task
force focuses on fleet management, while the other
addresses transportation demand management. A clear
set of protocols and policies surrounding the use of Tufts
vehicles and a transportation demand management plan
are expected deliverables to emerge from the process.

The purple lines represent Tufts’ various commitments to reduce emissions: 7% below 1990
levels by 2010 (Kyoto Protocol), 10% below 2001 levels by 2020 (New England Governors,
Eastern Canadian Premiers Climate Change Action Plan (NEG-ECP CCAP)), and 75-85% below
2001 levels by 2050 (NEG-ECP CCAP).
Shaded area represents projected emissions levels. The addition of cogeneration on the
Medford/Somerville campus is expected to reduce Medford campus emissions by 19% or 4,668
short tons of CO2 per year beginning in January of 2016.
Transportation fuel data collection did not begin until 2010 and is not included in this chart.
Emissions is approximately 40 short tons per 1,000 gross square foot (GSF).

RELATED HIGHLIGHTS:
• Two additional construction projects
were recognized in 2013 for their
sustainable building features: the Biology
Collaborative Cluster on the 4th floor
of 200 Boston Avenue in Medford
earned LEED® Gold certification and the
Sackler building in Boston became LEED
Certified. The ongoing redevelopment
of 574 Boston Avenue is on track to be
LEED certified to at least the Silver level.
• Last September, Tufts’ first electric
vehicle charging
station was installed
free of charge to Tufts
in Dowling garage.
National Grid owns the
station and covers the
cost of networking to
Chargepoint’s online
map of station locations
and availability.

NEXT STEPS
•

A 99kW solar array that will generate
125,000kWh of power for the Medford/
Somerville campus is being installed on the
roof of Dowling Hall. The project is part of the
Solarize Massachusetts Medford program,
which is supported by the Massachusetts
Clean Energy Center and the Department of
Energy Resources.

Tufts University | Campus Sustainability Progress Report | March 2014

•

A large 3.9 MW DC solar installation
for the Grafton campus is currently
in the permitting phase. Regulatory
changes in Massachusetts have
delayed the project, but when the
installation is complete, two solar
fields will produce the equivalent of approximately 45% of the
annual electricity consumption of the Grafton campus.
9